DC Studios is moving forward with its cinematic universe plans with a release date of September 11, 2026, for the Clayface movie and a June 30, 2028, release date for its Robin animated film, Dynamic Duo.
The comic book company confirmed the newly added spots on its theatrical release calendar today. Confirmation for Clayface arrives just one day after reports signaled that DC had decided to move forward with the project following the success of HBO’s The Penguin series. Although no director has been picked yet, horror visionary Mike Flanagan will serve as the film’s writer, with Lynn Harris set to produce alongside The Batman’s Matt Reeves. Variety previously reported that filming is scheduled to begin in early 2025.
Exciting news out of @DCOfficial Studios today as #Clayface, a DCU story from a script by Mike Flanagan, has been OFFICIALLY greenlit.
Clayface premieres in 2026.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 13, 2024
Clayface still needs time to be molded into a finished project, so there plot details have yet to be revealed. However, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard about the Batman villain’s standalone movie. Deadline reported on Flanagan’s interest in a film about the character in 2023, saying that he had pitched an idea to DC that wasn’t picked up at the time. In 2021, the filmmaker teased how he might approach a Clayface movie, saying it could be a “standalone” story and a “horror/thriller/tagedy.” It’s unclear if those desires will play a part in the movie that eventually releases.
Dynamic Duo, meanwhile, which was revealed in early October as a Robin-focused animated film about Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, will be directed by Arthur Mintz. Coco and Lightyear scribe Matthew Aldrich has been tapped as writer, with Theresa Andersson, Reeves, and Harris all on board as producers. Plot information remains under wraps, though we do at least know that Mintz’ animation studio, Swaybox, is crafting something that blends animation, puppetry, and CGI.
It’s unclear how Clayface and Dynamic Duo might fit into James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU movie plans. What we do know, however, is that the two DC Studios co-CEOs are scheming together a cinematic universe that officially kicked off with the Max animated show Creature Commandos just last week. Superman will then lead the charge on the movie side of things on July 11, 2025, with a long lineup of other comic book heroes set to appear in their own projects in the future.
For more on the path Gunn and Safran are paving for the DCU, you can see the full schedule of everything announced so far here. Gunn recently described the new cinematic universe as more Star Wars than Marvel in some ways, though we’ll have to wait until more projects launch to see exactly what he means.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
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